Sheet stacking apparatus



Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL 3,273,179

SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 M24: M 6942M 14 BY 6m & fly;

Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL 3, 7 7

SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL 3, 78, 79

SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 9/ i0 L [6 2s 6/ Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL SHEET STACKING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed July 20, 1964 Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 19.64

8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL ,2

SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Filed July 20, 1964 s Sheets-Sheet e 2s 9/ 6%? 5 I9 16 l MEW- flaw/MW: MwZZL .3) W0 A: W

Oct. 11, 1966 P. H. HARTEL SHEET STACKING APPARATUS 8 Sheets-Sheet '7 Filed July 20, 1964 Oct. 11, 1966 Filed July 20, 1964 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 2 a" //3 //2 I" x .BY 54m 4% W United States Patent 3,278,179 SHEET STACKING APPARATUS Pieter Hendrik Harte], Amsterdam, Netherlands, assignor to Bull Nederland Administratieen Statistiekmachine Mij. N.V., Amsterdam, Netherlands Filed July 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,652 Claims priority, application France, Aug. 1, 1963, 943,420 5 Claims. (Cl. 271-3) The invention relates to sheet handling apparatus which are capable of taking up sheets, turning them over and returning them to the stack.

More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus designed to take up individually sheets such as cheques and other documents of the same type, which arrive successively at a first position, hereinafter cal-led the sheet gripping position, to convey these sheets along a circular path and to deposit them in a receiving compartment so as to cause them to take a second position, hereinafter called the depositing position, situated at the entrance to the receiving compartment, the latter comprising a pressure platform which is adapted to move perpendicularly to its plane and is continuously subjected to a force which tends to bring it to the depositing position.

A known apparatus of the aforesaid type is described in United States patent specification No. 3,046,009, applied for on February 1, 1961.

This apparatus comprises a driving device continuously rotatable about its axis of rotation and a rotatable conveying device adapted to turn about the same axis of rotation. The conveying device comprises two identical arms integral one with the other and disposed symmetrically about the axis of rotation. The peripheral end of each of these arms supports a dog intended to guide the leading edge of a sheet conveyed from the gripping position to the depositing position. A friction coupling device connecting the driving device to the conveying device permits of transmiting to the latter a constant torque which tends to rotate it at the same speed as the driving device when the latter is actuated with a uniform rotational movement. A locking device is provided to maintain the conveying device alternatively in one or other of two attendant positions in which one of the dogs is located in a sheet receiving position along the gripping position. The locking device is adapted to release the conveying device when a sheet arrives at the gripping position.

In the absence of sheet in the gripping position, the conveying device assumes either one of these attendant positions. When a sheet reaches the gripping position, its leading edge becomes engaged under that one of the dogs which is situated in the sheet receiving position and it actuates a member controlling the locking device in such manner that the latter releases the conveying device, which is set in movement under the effect of the torque which is transmitted to it by the friction coupling device, and also under the effect of the forces exerted on it by the conveyed sheet. The dog which was located in the sheet receiving position, then guides the leading edge of the sheet along its circular path. The sheet is thus conveyed along this path. At the instant when it approaches the depositing position, a portion of the outer edge of the dog by which it is guided bears against the platform of the receiving compartment, or against the sheet already situated in the compartment in the depositing position, in order to enable the conveyed sheet to be introduced into the compartment. An intercepting tongue stops the conveyed sheet in the depositing position, while the conveying device continues to move until the leading edge of the said sheet is completely disengaged from the dog by which it was guided and the other dog has reached the sheet receiving position. The locking device then holds fast the conveying device.

The operation just described, in the course of which the conveying device passes from one of its attendant positions to the next, will be called the operating cycle of the apparatus. One of the operating conditions of an apparatus of the type under consideration is that the conveying device should be able to reach the speed of the rotation of the driving device fairly rapidly after having left the attendant position. This condition is satisfied in the apparatus described in the aforesaid patent specification when the torque of constant value applied to the conveying device has a sufiicient value.

However, the force which must be exerted in order to actuate the member controlling the locking device when the latter is maintaining the conveying device in either one of its attendant positions, increases with the value of the torque to which the conveying device is then subjected, and if a relatively large force must be exerted by each of the sheets arriving in the gripping position in order to actuate the member controlling the locking memher for the purpose of releasing the conveying device, damage to some of these sheets may result, Therefore, the danger of damage to the sheets introduced into the apparatus will be reduced by minimising the constant value of the torque applied to the conveying device.

It will thus be seen that good operation of the apparatus described in the aforesaid patent specification requires accurate adjustment of the coupling device, so that the constant value of the torque applied to the conveying device is within very narrow limits and is maintained so in the course of the operation of the apparatus.

Another operating condition of an apparatus of the type under consideration is that the speed of rotation of the conveying device should not decrease at the instant when a dog supported by the said conveying device comes into contact with the platform of the receiving compartment or with the sheet already located in the said compartrnent at the depositing position, by reason of the resistant torque to which the conveying device is then subjected.

In order to satisfy this operating condition of the apparatus of the type under consideration when the latter is constructed as described in the aforesaid patent specification, it may be necessary to adjust the coupling device in such manner that the constant value of the torque applied to the conveying device is above the value which would be sufficient to satisfy the other operating conditions of the apparatus, or it may be necessary to provide an auxiliary coupling device for supplying to the conveying device an additional torque of appropriate value at the instant when this conveying device is subjected to the said resistant torque.

The first solution involves an increase in the risk of damage to the sheets introduced into the apparatus, and the second results in additional difiiculties in the design and adjustment of the apparatus.

Another operating condition of the apparatus of the type under consideration is that the length of the circular path described by a dog in each operating cycle of the apparatus is greater than the maximum length of the sheets to be manipulated by the apparatus, the length thus considered of a sheet being the distance between the leading edge of each sheet and its trailing edge.

If the length of the circular path then described by the dog were shorter than the length under consideration of a conveyed sheet, the trailing edge of the latter would overlap the dog arriving at the sheet receiving position at the end of the cycle, at the instant when the conveying device is to be held fast by the locking member, thus preventing operation of the latter at this instant.

Now, the length of the path described by a dog in the course of an operating cycle of the apparatus is proportional both to the length of the arm supporting the said dog and to the angle through which this arm turns in the course of this cycle. Having regard to the angle through which the said arm turns in the course of a cycle and the maximum length of the sheets to be manipulated by the apparatus, it is possible to define the rnini mum length which the said arm must have in order to avoid the aforesaid operating defect. The minimum length thus defined will be half as great for an apparatus of the type under consideration comprising a single dog supported by an arm which performs one complete revolution in each cycle, as for an apparatus of this type which comprises, as does that described in the aforesaid patent specification, two dogs supported by arms which perform only one half of a complete revolution in each cycle.

One object of the present invention is to avoid, in an apparatus of the type under consideration, the disadvantages resulting from the aforesaid operating conditions.

An apparatus of the type under consideration according to the invention is characterised in that the conveying device comprises a dog supported by an arm which performs one complete revolution in each cycle, and in that the coupling device by which the driving device is connected to the conveying device is so designed as to transmit to the latter a torque whose value, in the course of a cycle, varies between a minimum value and a maximum value as a function of the position of the dog .and which assumes a first value, close to the minimum value, when the dog is in the sheet receiving position, and a second value, close to the maximum value, when the dog is in contact with the platform of the receiving compartment or with the sheet already located in the compartment at the depositing position, the coupling device being adapted to be adjusted in such manner that this minimum value and this maximum value can be arbitrarily chosen. As compared with the known apparatus described in the aforesaid patent specification, an apparatus according to the invention has the following advantages:

The dimensions of the apparatus are reduced;

The mass of the conveying device is reduced, so that the forces of inertia to be overcome in order to set this conveying device in motion are reduced;

The angle defined by the sheet depositing position and the sheet gripping position may be chosen between wider limits and may, in particular, be greater than 180 (in the known apparatus this angle is necessarily below 180 so that a more favourable orientation of the receiving compartment in machines utilising the apparatus according to the invention is then possible;

The coupling device of the apparatus according to the invention may be so adjusted as to transmit no torque, or only a torque of negligible value, to the conveying device when the latter is in the attendant position, so that the force which must be exerted in order to actuate the member controlling the locking device may .be reduced, under otherwise equal conditions;

The coupling device of the apparatus according to the invention may be so adjusted that the conveying device rapidly reaches the speed of rotation of the guiding member after having left the attendant position, and is driven without slip by the driving device when the dog is in contact with the platform of the receiving compartment or with the sheet already located in the receiving compartment in the depositing position.

The various objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and from the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURES 1 and 2 are a side view and a front view respectively of an apparatus according to the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a view from above along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged sectional view along the line 66 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view along the line 77 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is an exploded perspective view of the driving device of the apparatus;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of the conveying device of the apparatus;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the locking device of the apparatus, and

FIGURE 11 is a diagrammatic illustration of a machine utilising the sheet handling apparatu according to the invention.

The following description relates to an apparatus according to the invention, employed to stack in a receiving compartment sheets which are individually conveyed along a track of a machine for performing operations on sheets or by means of the latter.

This apparatus (FIGURES 1 to 6) is mounted between walls 1 and 2 of the machine in which it is employed. FIGURES 1, 3, 4 and 5 also show that a guide 17 of the track (FIGURE 1) leading to the apparatus is mounted between these walls.

The sheets are conveyed along the track 110 by means of belts 19 which drive pulleys 21 (FIGURES 3, 5, 6 and 8) of the apparatus 100, and also by means of belts and rollers situated upstream of that part which is illustrated in the figures. A sheet thus conveyed along the track 110 (FIGURE 1) takes up, at the instant when it is introduced into the apparatus, the gripping position occupied by the sheet 201 illustrated in FIGURE '5, and it is deposited by the apparatus in the receiving compartment (FIGURE 5) in the depositing position occupied by the sheet 202 also shown in FIGURE 5.

The apparatus 100 comprises the following elements:

A rotatable driving device 50 (FIGURES 2, 6 and 8),

A conveying device 60 (FIGURES 2, 6 and 9),

A friction coupling device 70 (FIGURE 6) formed of portions 71 and 72 on the one hand, and 73 and 74 on the other hand, of the driving device and of the conveying device,

An adjusting device 80 (FIGURES 6 and 7) for varying between certain limits the value of the torque transmitted by the coupling device,

A locking device 90 (FIGURES 4, 5 and 10) adapted to maintain the conveying device in an attendant position along the gripping position in the absence of sheets in this position,

Curved guides 5 (FIGURES 1, 2, 5 and 6) adapted to direct towards the depositing position indicated by the chain line D in FIGURE 1, each sheet conveyed by the apparatus,

An abutment plate 26 intended to stop in the depositing position each of the sheets fed to the receiving compartment by the apparatus.

The driving device 50 (FIGURES 6 and 8) comprises a shaft 9, pulleys 21 and discs 16 fast with the said shaft. Each pulley comprises a thin web 51 adapted to withstand appreciable elastic deformations. The opposed faces of a pulley 21 and of the disc 16 adjacent thereto are provided with a circular rib (56 and 57 respectively) whose lateral edge, 71 and 72 respectively (FIGURE 6) is flat and forms one of the component elements of the coupling device 70.

The conveying device 60 (FIGURES 6 and 9) comprises arms 18 rotating freely about the shaft 9. Each of the arms 18 is terminated by a dog 61 intended to guide the leading edge of each sheet introduced into the apparatus. These arms are disposed along the discs 16 which are adjacent thereto, but are not in contact with the lateral edge 72 of the rib 57 on the disc 16 which are adjacent thereto. However, their resilience may be sufiicient to enable them to come into contact with the said edge 72 of the rib 57 on the adjacent discs under the effect of a lateral thrust which may be exerted thereon, as will hereinafter be seen, by the lateral edges 71 of the adjacent pulleys 21. The portions 73 (FIGURE 6) of the lateral faces of these arms 18 are intended to come into contact with the lateral edges 71 of the ribs 56 on the pulleys 21, and each form one of the component elements of the coupling device 70. Likewise, if the resilience of the arms 18 is suflicient, as will hereinafter be assumed, the portions 74 of the lateral faces of these arms may come into contact with the lateral edges 72 of the ribs 57 on the discs 16 when these arms reach a position in which the distance between the opposed edges 71 and 72 is equal to or less than their thickness at the level of the contact surfaces 73 and 74. These lateral edges 72 of the ribs 57 then each form one of the component elements of the coupling device 70.

The adjusting device 80 (FIGURES 6 and 7) comprises fixed discs 22, needle thrust bearings 81, adjustment screws 11, 12 and 13 (FIGURE 1) and rubber annuli 27 through which the said screws extend. The adjusting device is set by means of the screws 11, 12 and 13 (FIGURE 1) in such manner that the fixed discs 22 occupy an oblique position in relation to the axis of rotation of the shaft 9 of the driving device 50, and exert a pressure, through the needle bearings 31, on that portion of the pulleys 21 which is situated in the neighbourhood of the depositing position. As a result of this adjustment, the plane of rotation of each of the pulleys 21 is not perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the shaft 9 on which they are mounted, but it is also oblique in relation to the plane of rotation of the discs 16. As will hereinafter be assumed, the position of the adjusting device 80 may be so adjusted that, in the neighbourhood of the gripping position, the lateral edge 71 of the rib 56 on the pulleys 19 is outside the path of the arms 18, and that, in the neighbourhood of the depositing position, this lateral edge 71 is situated in the path of the said arms. Consequently, the value of the torque transmitted to the conveying device by the coupling device 70 varies as a function of the angular position of the arm 18 of the conveying device 60, between a value which is zero when the arms 18 of the conveying device are in the neighbourhood of the gripping position, and a predetermined value other than zero when these arms are situated in the neighbourhood of the depositing position.

The locking device 91 (FIGURE comprises a pin 35 pivoting in a recess in the guide 17. Detents 25 formed, for example, of steel wire bent into U-shape, are secured to the said pin 35. An arm 36 also formed, for example, of bent steel wire and secured to the pin 35, bears in a recess 34 (FIGURES 3 and 4) in the guide 17. A return spring 37 (FIGURE 5) is so disposed as to exert a force which opposes a rotational movement of the locking device 90 in the clockwise direction from the position indicated in FIGURE 4. An arm 91 formed, for example, in the same way as the detents 25, of steel wire bent into U-shape and also secured to the pin 35, serves to control the locking device.

The receiving compartment or receptacle 120 (FIG- URES 1, 2 and 5) in which the apparatus 100 deposits the sheets essentially comprises the following elements:

Columns 32 secured to the walls 1 and 2 of the machine,

A receiving platform 3 arranged for sliding movement on the columns 32,

Traction springs 4 for urging the platform 3 towards the depositing position, i.e. towards the chain line D (FIGURE 1), against the curved guides 5 of the apparatus 100,

Blades 33 by which the first deposited in the compartment or receptacle is maintained in the position in which it has been stopped by the abutment plate 26.

When there is no sheet in the gripping position, the various parts of the apparatus are situated in the position 6 indicated in FIGURES 1 to 4, the detents 25 (FIGURES 2 and 3) preventing the conveying device 60 from turning in the counter-clockwise direction simultaneously with the pulleys 21 and the discs 16 of the driving device 50.

When a sheet 200 (FIGURE 4) approaches the gripping position, its leading edge 210 is introduced between the discs 16 (FIGURE 4) and the pulleys 21 (FIGURE 5) on the one hand, and the dogs 61 on the other hand. It then acts on the portions 251 and 911 (FIGURES 4, 5 and 10) of the detents 25 and of the arm 91, so as to rock the locking device and consequently the detents 25 in the clockwise direction from the position in which this locking device is illustrated in FIGURE 4 to the position which it occupies in FIGURE 5, the only force which has to be overcome being that which is set up by the return spring 37. The conveying device 60 is then disengaged from the detents 25, as shown in FIGURE 5, and is free to turn about the shaft 9 in the counterclockwise direction. When the sheet reaches the gripping position occupied by the sheet 201 illustrated in FIG- URE 5, its leading edge 210 abuts the arms 18 and imparts thereto a rotational movement in the counter-clockwise direction.

In the course of this rotation movement, each of these arms 18 moves between the opposed edges 71, 72 (FIG- URE 6) of the circular ribs 56 and 57 of the pulleys 21 and the discs 16.

If those portions of these opposed edges which are situated on either side of an arm 18 is considered at each instant, the distance between the portions under consideration is a continuous function of the angular position of the said arm, this distance being maximum when the said arm is located in a position parallel to the line 66 of FIG- URE l in the neighborhood of a gripping position, and being minimum when the said arm is located in the diametrically opposed position, i.e. in the neighborhood of the depositing position.

When the arms 18 have rotated a predetermined angle from the position which they occupy in FIGURE 5, the portions 73 (FIGURE 6) of one lateral face of these arms come into contact with the portions under consideration of the lateral edges 71 of the ribs 56 on the pulleys 21. This takes place when the arms 18 reach a position which will hereinafter be called the position of engagement, from which the arms 18 are driven by the pulleys 21. In other words, the conveying device 60 is driven by the driving device 50 through the coupling device 70 from the instant when the arms 18 reach the position of engagement. The lateral edges 71 of the ribs 56 on the pulleys 21 then exert a lateral thrust on the arms 18 and, if the resilience of these arms is sufiicient, as will now be assumed, the portions 74 of the lateral faces of these arms come into contact with the lateral edges 72 of the ribs 57 on'the discs 21 by reason of the said lateral thrust when they are situated between portions of the opposed edges 71 and 72 which are separated from one another by a distance smaller than the thickness of these arms at the level of the contact surfaces 73 and 74.

The value of the torque which can be transmitted to the conveying device 60 by the coupling device 70 increases with the angle through which the arms 18 rotate from this position of engagement and reaches a maximum when these arms occupy the position parallel to the line 66 of FIGURE 1 which is closest to the depositing position. The value of the torque thereafter decreases and is cancelled out when the arms reach a position, called the position of disengagement, which is symmetrical with the position of engagement about the line 6-6 of FIGURE 1.

During the rotational movement of the arms 18, the leading edge 210 of the sheet, guided by the dogs 61 of the conveying device 60, follows the periphery of the discs 16 and of the pulleys 21, and the sheet is at least partially driven by the latter. When portions of the leading edge 210 come into contact with the curved guides 5, they move away from the discs 16 and from the pulleys 21 and enter the receiving compartment 120 along the depositing position D (FIGURE 1), while the external portion of the dogs 61 moves the receiving platform 3 away from the depositing position when no sheet is situated in the receiving compartment 120, or, as is the case in FIGURE 5, where sheet 202 is already located in the receiving compartment, moves this sheet away from the depositing position. Portions of the surface of the conveyed sheet are still in contact with the dogs 61 and with the periphery of the discs 16 and of the pulleys 21, and by reason of the contacts which thus still remain, this sheet continues to move along the periphery of the discs 16 and of the pulleys 21 until the instant when its leading edge encounters the abutment plate 26. It is then situated in the receiving compartment in the depositing position. The conveying device 60 maintained in motion by the torque transmitted thereto by the coupling device 70 continues to rotate until it is stopped by the detents 25 in the position which it occupies in FIGURE 4 before the arrival of the sheet 200 at the gripping position, the torque transmitted by the coupling device to the conveying device then being zero.

By means of the apparatus according to the invention, sheets arriving at the gripping position at irregular intervals can be fed to a receiving compartment and stacked therein, which sheets may differ from one another in their dimensions and their characteristics.

It is obvious that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment which has just been described.

The driving device and the conveying device of an apparatus according to the invention 'could be, for example, similar to those described in the aforesaid patent specification.

The coupling device of an apparatus according to the invention could consist of appropriate parts mounted on the driving device and on the conveying device and could comprise a cam having an axial action or a radical action on the parts under consideration, depending upon the various embodiments of the invention.

The relation existing between the angular position of the conveying device and the value of the torque which can be transmitted thereto by the coupling device may differ from that existing in the apparatus previously described.

The device for adjusting the coupling device of an apparatus according to the invention may be constructed in various forms. More particularly, it may be so designed that its angular position may be modified at will in order that the angular positions of the conveying device corresponding to the minimum and maximum values of the torque which can be transmitted by the coupling device may be modified at will.

The apparatus according to the invention could be provided with an auxiliary coupling device transmitting to the conveying device a torque of constant value.

The angle between the sheet depositing position and the sheet gripping position may vary, and it may be so chosen as to render possible a more favourable orientation of the receiving compartments in the machines in which the apparatus according to the invention is employed.

FIGURE 11 illustrates diagrammatically by way of example the general arrangement of a sheet sorting machine utilising a number of apparatus 101, 102 and 103 according to the invention, this machine comprising a magazine 320, a supply device 300, a track 310, and flaps 321, 322 and 323 by which sheets circulating on the track 310 may be directed, as required, towards the tracks 111, 112 and 113 leading to the apparatus 101, 102 and 103. This machine comprises a number of receiving compartments 121, 122 and 123 in which sheets are stacked by means of the apparatus 101, 102 and 103, in a position parallel to the sheets located in the magazine 320 and with the same orientation.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for individually seizing sheets which are supplied sequentially and in flatwise condition to a gripping position, conveying such sheets along a circular path from said gripping position to a depositing position at the top of a sheet receptacle provided with a movable pressure platform continuously urged towards said depositing position, and releasing such sheets at said depositing position, the combination of:

a rotary sheet conveying member adapted, as it assumes a first position, to engage such sheet reaching the gripping position, as said conveying member moves from said first position to a second position in the course of a rotation, to guide such a sheet along said circular path, and, as said conveying member travels past said second position, to present such a sheet to said depositing position while pressing away the platform, or a sheet, lying in said depositing position;

locking means for holding said conveying member stationary in said first position when no sheet lies in the gripping position, said locking means including means responsive to the arrival of a sheet in said gripping position for releasing said locking means;

means for stripping a sheet from said conveying member at said depositing position;

a continuously rotating driving device;

a friction coupling device for coupling said conveying member to said driving device in such a manner as to apply to said conveying member a driving torque which varies with the angular position of said conveying member;

and means for adjusting the value of said driving torque at selected angular positions of said conveying device.

2. In an apparatus for individually seizing sheets which are fed sequentially and in a fiatwise condition along an advancement path to a gripping position, conveying such sheets along a circular path from said gripping position to a depositing position at the top of a sheet receptacle provided with a movable pressure platform continuously urged towards said depositing position, and releasing such sheets at said depositing position, the combination of:

a continuously rotating shaft having its rotation axis extending transversely to the direction of advancement of the sheets on said advancement path, at equal distance from said gripping position and from said depositing position;

a coupling member provided with a friction coupling driving surface of revolution and adapted to rotate about the revolution axis of said driving surface;

a driving connection between said shaft and said coupling member;

a rotary sheet conveying member pivoted about said rotation axis of the shaft provided with a friction coupling driven surface adjacent to said friction coupling driving surface of said coupling member, and provided with a gripper adapted to engage the leading edge of a sheet reaching said gripping position when said conveying member lies in a first position, and to guide to said depositing position a sheet conveyed by said conveying member while pressing away the platform, or a sheet, lying in said depositing position when said conveying member travels past a second position;

means for warping said friction coupling driving surface of revolution so as to apply to said conveying member a variable driving torque;

locking means for holding said conveying member stationary in said first position as long as no sheet reaches the gripping position, said locking means including means responsive to the engagement of a sheet by said conveying member for releasing said locking means;

and a stationary sheet stripper at said depositing position.

3. In an apparatus for stacking sheets which are fed separately and in a flatwise condition along an advancement path to a gripping position, the combination of:

a continuously rotating shaft having its rotation axis extending below said gripping position transversely to the direction of advancement of the sheets along said path;

a pulley keyed on said shaft, capable of being resiliently warped and provided with a lateral friction coupling driving surface of revolution of which the axis of revolution normally coincides with the rotation axis of said shaft;

a rotary sheet conveying member pivoted on said shaft, provided with a friction coupling driven surface adjacent to said friction coupling driving surface of said pulley, and provided with a gripper for engaging the leading edge of a sheet reaching said gripping position when said conveying member lies in a first position, and for guiding to a depositing position a sheet conveyed by said conveying member when said conveying member lies in a second position;

stationary cam means engaging said pulley to cause said pulley to be warped so as to apply to said conveying member a driving torque which varies with the angular position of said conveying member;

means for adjustably setting the position of said stationary cam means; a

locking means for holding said conveying member stationary in said first position as long as no sheet reaches the gripping position, said locking means including means responsive to the engagement of a sheet by said conveying member for releasing said locking means;

and a stationary sheet stripper at said depositing position.

4. In an apparatus for individually seizing sheets which are fed sequentially and in a fiatwise condition along an advancement path to a gripping position, conveying such sheets along a circular path from said gripping position said depositing position when said conveying member travels past a second position;

means for adjustably warping said first driving member so as to apply to said conveying member a driving torque which varies with the angular position of said conveying member; locking means for holding said conveying member stationary in said first position as long as no sheet reaches the gripping position, said locking means including means responsive to the engagement of a sheet by said conveying member for releasing said locking means;

and a stationary sheet stripper at said depositing position.

5. In an apparatus for individually seizing sheets which are fed sequentially and in a fiatwise condition along an advancement path to a gripping position, conveying such sheets along a circular path from said gripping position to a depositing position at the top of a sheet receptacle provided with a movable pressure platform continuously urged towards said depositing position, and releasing such sheets at said depositing position, the combination of:

a continuously rotating shaft having its rotation axis extending transversely to the direction of advancement of the sheets along said advancement path, at equal distance from said gripping position and from said depositing position; first and a second driving member keyed on said shaft;

said first driving member being provided with a first lateral friction coupling driving surface of revolution capable of being resiliently warped, and of which the axis of revolution normally coincides with the rotation axis of said shaft; said second driving member having a peripheral sheet engaging ring inscribed in said circular path, and a second lateral friction coupling driving surface of revolution of which the axis of revolution coincides with the rotation axis of said shaft and which is facing said first driving first position, and so as to guide to said depositing position a sheet conveyed by said conveying member while pressing away the plaform, or a sheet, lying in to a depositing position at the top of a sheet receptacle f Provided with a movable Pressure Platform continuously a rotary sheet conveying member located between said urged towards said depositing position, and releasing such fi t d id Second d i i b id d ith Sheets at Said depositing Position, the combination of! two friction coupling driven surfaces respectively a continuously rotating shaft having its rotation axis adjacgnt to i fi t and to id Second i i extending transversely to the direction of advancesurface, and provided with a gripper extending sub- In' n f tho Sllefits along Said advancement P at stantially tangentially to said circular path so as to equal distance from said gripping position and from engage th leading edge, f a h t hi id said depositing position; gripping position when said conveying member lies first and a Second driving member keyed 011 531d in a first position, and so as to guide to said depositshaft; ing position a sheet conveyed by said conveying said first driving member being provided with a be while ressing away the platform, or a first lateral friction coupling driving surface of sheet, l i i id d i i i i h id revolution Capable of being resiliently Warped, conveying member travels past a second position; and of which the axis of revolution no a y stationary cam means for warping said first driving coincides with the rotation axis of said shaft; surface so as to apply to said conveying member a a d Second driving member having 8 Peripheral driving torque which varies with the angular posisheet engaging Circular surface c inciding Wi tion of said conveying member; means for adjustsaid circular path, and a second latera1 friction means; l ki means fo h ldi i conveying ou ling driving surface of revolution of which member stationary in said first position as long as no the axis of revolution coincides with the rota- 6 sheeet reaches the gripping position, said locking tion aXis of said shaft and which is facing said means including means responsive to the engagement first driving surface; of a sheet by said conveying member for releasing a rotary sheet conveying member located between said aid locking means;

first and said second driving member provided with and a stationary sheet stripper at said depositing two friction coupling driving surfaces respectively iti adjacent to said first and to said second driving surface, and provided with a gripper extending sub- References Cited by the Examiner stantially tangentially to said circular path so as to en UNITED STATES PATENTS a e the leading edge of a sheet reaching said gripijfg itio when said conveying member lies in a 30460o9 7/1962 Hartel 101 409 X M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner. J. N. ERLICH, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR INDIVIDUALLY SEIZING SHEET WHICH ARE SUPPLIED SEQUENTIALLY AND IN FLATWISE CONDITION TO A GRIPPING POSITION, CONVEYING SUCH SHEETS ALONG A CIRCULAR PATH FROM SAID GRIPPING POSITION TO A DEPOSITING POSITION AT THE TOP OF A SHEET RECEPTACLE PROVIDED WITH A MOVABLE PRESSURE PLATFORM CONTINUOUSLY URGED TOWARDS SAID DEPOSITING POSITION, AND RELEASING SUCH SHEETS AT SAID DEPOSITING POSITION, THE COMBINATION OF: A ROTARY SHEET CONVEYING MEMBER ADAPTED, AS IT ASSUMES A FIRST POSITION, TO ENGAGE SUCH SHEET REACHING THE GRIPPING POSITION, AS SAID CONVEYING MEMBER MOVES FROM SAID FIRST POSITION TO A SECOND POSITION IN THE COURSE OF A ROTATION, TO GUIDE SUCH A SHEET ALONG SAID CIRCULAR PATH, AND, AS SAID CONVEYING MEMBER TRAVELS PAST SAID SECOND POSITION, TO PRESENT SUCH A SHEET TO SAID DEPOSITING POSITION WHILE PRESSING AWAY THE PLATFORM, OR A SHEET, LYING IN SAID DEPOSITING POSITION; LOCKING MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID CONVEYING MEMBER STATIONARY IN SAID FIRST POSITION WHEN NO SHEET LIES IN THE GRIPPING POSITION, SAID LOCKING MEANS INCLUDING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE ARRIVAL OF A SHEET IN SAID GRIPPING POSITION FOR RELEASING SAID LOCKING MEANS; MEANS FOR STRIPPING A SHEET FROM SAID CONVEYING MEMBER AT SAID DEPOSITING POSITION; A CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING DRIVING DEVICE; A FRICTION COUPLING DEVICE FOR COUPLING SAID CONVEYING MEMBER TO SAID DRIVING DEVICE IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO APPLY TO SAID CONVEYING MEMBER A DRIVING TORGUE WHICH VARIES WITH THE ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID CONVEYING MEMBER; AND MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE VALUE OF SAID DRIVING TORQUE AT SELECTED ANGULAR POSITIONS OF SAID CONVEYING TORQUE. 